2. Oxford University Press is apparently adopting a policy that contributions to multi-authored works are signed over to them as “work for hire”. This assigns all rights to OUP (it means the authors aren’t the authors and wouldn’t be allowed to host a copy in their own archive.) (see http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=1030 )

Publishers clearly wish to prevent Open Access archives and make them illegal. Any link to such an archive would fall foul of PIPA/SOPA.

This makes it sound as if one could appeal against a shutdown order made under PIPA/SOPA and one could mount a defence. In fact, the legislation enables those who assert that their Intellectual Property rights are being violated to have websites shut down without due process.

SHAKSPER is vulnerable in this regard. I’ve just searched the SHAKSPER website and found in old digests dozens of links to the website <www.gabrielegan.com>. There is material on <www.gabrielegan.com> that rights holders could object to, and this is clearly not inadvertent: the site owner is on record advocating behaviour that PIPA/SOPA defines as piracy.

As a site that provides links to the rogue site <www.gabrielegan.com>, <www.shaksper.net> is in danger of being closed down if PIPA/SOPA is passed in anything like its current form. What counts as piracy and what counts as a rogue site are too broadly defined and the powers given to alleged rights holders too great.